The present invention relates to a hand-held controller, and particularly to a hand-held controller for a bed and mattress assembly. More particularly the present invention relates to a hand-held controller having buttons that are pressed to control one or more functions of the bed and mattress assembly.
Beds including hand-held controllers that are used to control functions of the bed, such as, articulation of bed frame sections, vibration of bed frame sections, and inflation of air bladders included in a mattress of the bed, are known. Signals are either sent along wires or are transmitted remotely between the hand-held controller and a control box of the bed that is spaced apart from the hand-held controller. Typical hand-held controllers are provided with a plurality of buttons that are pressed to control different functions of the bed. Some hand-held controllers, such as that shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,154, provide numerical feedback to a user.
According to the present invention, a hand-held controller is provided for controlling at least one function of a bed and mattress assembly to which the handheld controller is coupled electrically. The hand-held controller includes a button that is engageable to control the at least one function of the bed and mattress assembly. The hand-held controller further includes a display that is configured to provide feedback to a user regarding the at least one function. The display simultaneously displays a graphical image and numerical data when the button is engaged.
In preferred embodiments, the hand-held controller includes a plurality of buttons and the display enables a user to view various screens having various images and data when the user presses a respective button that corresponds with an associated function of the bed and mattress assembly. Also in preferred embodiments, the display defaults to a clock showing a time-of-day when none of the plurality of buttons are pressed. In addition, some of the plurality of buttons permit the user to program a selected function of the bed and mattress assembly to occur at a programmed time.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.